title: Waist circumference is genetically correlated with incident Type 2 diabetes in Mexican-American families.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to determine the genetic and environmental correlation between various anthropometric indexes and incident Type 2 diabetes with a focus on waist circumference.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used the data on extended Mexican-American families (808 subjects, 7617.92 person-years follow-up) from the San Antonio Family Heart Study and estimated the genetic and environmental correlations of 16 anthropometric indexes with the genetic liability of incident Type 2 diabetes. We performed bivariate trait analyses using the solar software package.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 16 anthropometric indexes were significantly heritable (range of heritabilities 0.24-0.99). Thirteen indexes were found to have significant environmental correlation with the liability of incident Type 2 diabetes. In contrast, only anthropometric indexes consisting of waist circumference (waist circumference, waist-hip ratio and waist-height ratio) were significantly genetically correlated (genetic correlation coefficients: 0.45, 0.55 and 0.44, respectively) with the liability of incident Type 2 diabetes. We did not observe such a correlation for BMI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Waist circumference as a predictor of future Type 2 diabetes is supported by the finding that they share common genetic influences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mamtani
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Dyer
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Almasy
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Mahaney
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Duggirala
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Comuzzie
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blangero
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Curran
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics